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An Unusual Case of Railway Suicide


Affiliations
1 Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (Haryana), India
2 Deptt. Of Forensic Medicine, Pt. B. D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, India
     

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Injuries sustained due to railway mishaps are well documented. In these mishaps, ascertaining the cause of death is usually not difficult, but frequently circumstances do raise questions as to the manner of death.

Decapitation or complete severance of head from the body is imminently fatal condition without any exception. A case of decapitation in a railway accident is discussed. It stresses on the fact that there is an increasing number of such cases and there is always a question whether the death was a homicide or suicide or an accident. The combination of death scene findings and autopsy results will in most cases distinguish between homicidal and other modes of death.


Keywords

Railway Accident, Decapitation, Spinal Cord Transaction
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  • An Unusual Case of Railway Suicide

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Authors

Jitender Kumar Jakhar
Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (Haryana), India
S K Dhattarwal
Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (Haryana), India
Anil Malik
Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (Haryana), India
Yogesh Sharma
Deptt. Of Forensic Medicine, Pt. B. D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak, India

Abstract


Injuries sustained due to railway mishaps are well documented. In these mishaps, ascertaining the cause of death is usually not difficult, but frequently circumstances do raise questions as to the manner of death.

Decapitation or complete severance of head from the body is imminently fatal condition without any exception. A case of decapitation in a railway accident is discussed. It stresses on the fact that there is an increasing number of such cases and there is always a question whether the death was a homicide or suicide or an accident. The combination of death scene findings and autopsy results will in most cases distinguish between homicidal and other modes of death.


Keywords


Railway Accident, Decapitation, Spinal Cord Transaction

References